Tuesday, April 19, 2011

Zillow Home Value Data Now Available for Feb.

Zillow.com released housing price data today with home values through February, see the graph above of Zillow's monthly U.S. Home Value Index back to January 1996 (you can also get price data and graphs for more than 100 metro areas, and all states). According to Zillow, its Home Value Index is calculated as the median value (Zestimate) of all homes in a particular geographic area, and for the national index shown above, the housing price data are weighted according to population in each area.

The median Zillow price in February 2011 of $170,000 was the lowest since June 2003, more than 7 and a-half-years ago, and is 29% below the $240,000 peak Zillow median home price in May 2006. For an estimate (or "Zestimate") of your home's value, go here and type in your address. Warning: You might be depressed, I know I was, but maybe that's because my home is in Michigan.

12 Comments:

My house is now roughly worth what I paid for it in 1987. It was a slow ride up to over 2 1/2 times what I paid for it, but a quick crash down.

My local tax assessor does not agree with my estimated property value or my appraisal from a state licensed appraiser (I went to graduate school with the city assessor :-). I look forward to seeing if I win my property tax appeal May 2.

BTW: My Zillow estimate was within 5% of my professional appraisal and personal comparable search of five properties like mine sold in the last six months.

This is good news: housing should drop much lower and will become much more affordable for those who aren't already bought in. The problem is that housing became an "investment" during the last decade, rather than a place to stay that you could put some money into. The reason that happened is because foreign investors had a bunch of money and didn't know where to put it, Wall Street sold them a story about how house prices don't fall, and all the house-flippers and mortgagers cashed in as prices went up. Well, such bubbles don't last and it all came crashing down, that's where it should stay. I'll note that as telecommuting takes off in the next decade, the prices in larger, overpriced markets like NY, LA, SF are about to fall through the floor.

You are exactly wrong. Popele like living in SF, LA and NYC, which is why prices are high there.

There are places in the country devoid of culture, and blessed with hot and humid summers, and freezing clammy winters, and lots of mosquitoes. And huge cockroaches, delicately called "waterbugs." Black crickets too, even in the "best" homes.

Texas comes to mind, and I don't think housing will ever sell for more than the cost of contruction there. It is selling fro below replacement costs now.